My Humps, My Humps: The Short But Spectacular Life of the U.S. Camel Corps

In 1854, it was time for a big idea – a big hump of an idea. Secretary of War Jefferson Davis (yes, that Jefferson Davis) went to Congress to pitch a novel concept that had caught his ear years before. President Pierce and Congress were skeptical, but he left with $30,000 to bring a fleet of camels to the United States for military use.